Latest Nostalgia
Six
Things had gone exactly as expected over the following few days- everytime I spent time with the guys, and Holly, she always found a way to either get me away, or get Jack away from the group. It was beyond aggravating that I couldn't spend five seconds with my best friend because his girlfriend hated me. The band was going to spend a few weeks recording in LA, and this was the last night they'd be home until they finished recording. I was sitting on Jack's couch, finally getting a second alone with him because Holly was spending time with a friend who lived in Baltimore.
"So how long will you be here once you get back?"
"Depends," he said through a mouthful of burrito. Charming, I thought as he swallowed. "Depends on how long we spend in LA, but our tour starts in two months, so not too long. But it's enough," he said with a quick smile at me. I returned it, though my heart dropped. It felt like he had just gotten here and now he was up and leaving again. I simply nodded.
"So what do you think of Holly?" he said after a few seconds of silence. My stomach twisted, and I tried my best to put on a smile.
"I think she's really awesome, she seems like she's really good for you." Good enough.
He looked at me for a moment, analyzing me.
"You don't like her at all," he laughed. "Why?"
Of course Jack would see right through my feeble attempts at hiding my less than friendly feelings toward his girlfriend.
I paused, inhaling deeply as I thought. "She just... doesn't really seem to like me that much I guess. It seems like anytime I come around she finds ways to exclude me or make me feel unwanted. I feel like she's kind of taken you away, you know? I never get to see you," I said sadly.
He instantly looked guilty.
"Presley," he frowned. "Why didn't you say anything? She hasn't said a word about you, she seems like she really likes you. I don't get where all this is coming from."
"How can you not see all of this," I said irritably. "She hates me, Jack."
"Maybe you're just..."
"Just what?" I asked bluntly.
"Maybe you're just jealous."
I scoffed, throwing my plate down on the coffee table and slipping my shoes on.
"Bye, Jack. Have fun in LA."
Jack and I made up after he left for LA, it didn't take too long for either of us to feel guilty and apologize at almost the exact same time. I swore we worked on the same wavelength. With Holly back in Vegas, Jack and I got more time to Skype and spend time talking to one another again. Usually our calls got interrupted at some point by the falsely bubbly blonde, but I tried to brush it off.
He had invited me to some stay with him and the guys for a while, as they had a spare bedroom, and I happily obliged, asking off time from work immediately. The next week was going to drag by.
Three days into staying in LA with Jack and the band, and I was having one of the best weeks of my life. Between spending time in the studio, and playing drunken mini golf, it was safe to say I had become one of the boys. We were in the middle of an intense round of Kings, and I was feeling pretty buzzed, when suddenly a voice piped up from the stairs.
"Ooh, Kings! I wanna play!" Holly bounced over to the table, then frowned when she realized there wasn't room.
"Oh, Pres, do you wanna give up your spot for Holly? You can come back in next round," Jack smiled encouragingly.
"Sure," I said through gritted teeth, and after watching for a minute I had to step outside.
The air was cool, the breeze blowing my hair in my face. I looked out over the neighborhood below and sighed.
"Everything cool? I brought you a beer," Rian smiled, handing me Yuengling and sitting beside me. "She's a bitch," he said suddenly, causing me to choke on my beer in laughter. I quickly covered, though asking him who he was talking about.
"You know exactly who I'm talking about," he smirked. He mimicked her over-zealous energy, "Who else could it be?!"
I laughed, "Yeah, well, she doesn't seem to like me very much either so I guess it works."
"For the record," he said slowly, glancing at me. "I think you and him would be much better together."
I felt myself blush, but tried to keep composure.
"What are you talking about?" My laugh was nervous and shaky.
He looked at me with a smirk, "Oh, come on, Presley. We all see the way you look at each other, the way you act around one another. I just wish he'd get his head out of his ass and dump the blonde."
"Yeah, well, he's obviously not interested so it doesn't matter." I laid my head on his shoulder, feeling tears well up. My throat felt tight, and I didn't speak for fear I'd break down completely. I didn't want to be a drunk, crying mess when the week had gone so well thus far.
"He's an idiot. I know he has feelings for you, he just won't do anything about it."
"No he doesn't," I choked. Rian put his arm around me, taking my beer from my hands and setting it behind us.
"Hey, you guys- hey, are you okay?!" Jack quickly bent down beside me, looking at me with a look I'd never seen before. I'd never seen his face crease in that way.
"I'm fine," I smiled and wiped the tears from under my eyes. I stood, giving Rian a quick hug and thanking him. I picked my beer up with intentions of going back inside, but Jack grabbed my hand.
"What's wrong, Elvis?" he asked softly, wiping a tear off my cheek with his thumb.
"It's nothing, I'm just being dumb. I've had a little too much to drink," I replied with a soft smile.
"You're not dumb," he assured me, then pulled me in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, tensed at first but then able to relax into his arms. We stood there for a moment until I heard the door slide open.
"What the fuck is going on?" Holly asked, looking at my tear-stained face as we broke from our hug.
I rolled my eyes, "Fuck you, Holly," I venomously as I walked past her into the house.
I heard them whispering to one another and then she followed me back into the house, Jack not too far behind, looking exasperated.
"Excuse me?" she asked, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.
"I said, fuck. you." The alcohol was running through my system, and I knew that was the only reason I was standing up to her. She moved forward, frowning.
"What's your problem, honey? You've been nothing but jealous of me and Jack since I met you, and to be honest it's getting a little pathetic."
"Holly!" Jack said, finally doing more than standing there with a stunned look on his face. "What's your deal?"
"Your little friend here is the one with a problem... Jack, she's obviously got a thing for you. It's obvious," she turned to me. "Deny it, if it's not true."
The entire room waited with bated breath, unsure of what was going to happen next.
"No," finally spoke. "I won't deny it. I'm not going to deny it, because..." I avoided Jack's piercing gaze. "I won't deny it because it's true." I exhaled deeply.
"Told you!" she said in triumph. Jack walked toward me, straight past Holly, and frowned.
"Wait, what do you mean, Pres?"
"You heard what I said, Jack," I sighed.
"How long?" he asked.
"A long time. Like, since high school."
"Why didn't you ever tell me?!" he laughed, earning a look of pure hatred from Holly.
"What the hell is going on here?!" she said loudly.
Jack continued to look at me, though, with curiosity and a small smile.
"Holly, we need to talk," he said, still looking at me with those big, brown eyes.
"Excuse me?" she asked, finally a small look of fear on her face.
"I'll be right back," he told me, pulling Holly back outside. I turned to look at the rest of the room, who all had raised eyebrows.
"Well that was fun," I said, hoping to break the silence. Everyone laughed, resuming what they had been doing. Alex walked over and clapped me on the back and resting his arm on my shoulders.
"It's about fucking time," he laughed. "That relationship was making me crazy!"
"Maybe he's not breaking up with her, though," I bit my lip.
He gave me a look before walking back over the pong table, where his partner, Zack, had been yelling for him to return. I watched them play for a while until I noticed Jack re-enter the room. Glancing over, I noticed he was looking directly at me as he walked across the room.
"So how long will you be here once you get back?"
"Depends," he said through a mouthful of burrito. Charming, I thought as he swallowed. "Depends on how long we spend in LA, but our tour starts in two months, so not too long. But it's enough," he said with a quick smile at me. I returned it, though my heart dropped. It felt like he had just gotten here and now he was up and leaving again. I simply nodded.
"So what do you think of Holly?" he said after a few seconds of silence. My stomach twisted, and I tried my best to put on a smile.
"I think she's really awesome, she seems like she's really good for you." Good enough.
He looked at me for a moment, analyzing me.
"You don't like her at all," he laughed. "Why?"
Of course Jack would see right through my feeble attempts at hiding my less than friendly feelings toward his girlfriend.
I paused, inhaling deeply as I thought. "She just... doesn't really seem to like me that much I guess. It seems like anytime I come around she finds ways to exclude me or make me feel unwanted. I feel like she's kind of taken you away, you know? I never get to see you," I said sadly.
He instantly looked guilty.
"Presley," he frowned. "Why didn't you say anything? She hasn't said a word about you, she seems like she really likes you. I don't get where all this is coming from."
"How can you not see all of this," I said irritably. "She hates me, Jack."
"Maybe you're just..."
"Just what?" I asked bluntly.
"Maybe you're just jealous."
I scoffed, throwing my plate down on the coffee table and slipping my shoes on.
"Bye, Jack. Have fun in LA."
Jack and I made up after he left for LA, it didn't take too long for either of us to feel guilty and apologize at almost the exact same time. I swore we worked on the same wavelength. With Holly back in Vegas, Jack and I got more time to Skype and spend time talking to one another again. Usually our calls got interrupted at some point by the falsely bubbly blonde, but I tried to brush it off.
He had invited me to some stay with him and the guys for a while, as they had a spare bedroom, and I happily obliged, asking off time from work immediately. The next week was going to drag by.
Three days into staying in LA with Jack and the band, and I was having one of the best weeks of my life. Between spending time in the studio, and playing drunken mini golf, it was safe to say I had become one of the boys. We were in the middle of an intense round of Kings, and I was feeling pretty buzzed, when suddenly a voice piped up from the stairs.
"Ooh, Kings! I wanna play!" Holly bounced over to the table, then frowned when she realized there wasn't room.
"Oh, Pres, do you wanna give up your spot for Holly? You can come back in next round," Jack smiled encouragingly.
"Sure," I said through gritted teeth, and after watching for a minute I had to step outside.
The air was cool, the breeze blowing my hair in my face. I looked out over the neighborhood below and sighed.
"Everything cool? I brought you a beer," Rian smiled, handing me Yuengling and sitting beside me. "She's a bitch," he said suddenly, causing me to choke on my beer in laughter. I quickly covered, though asking him who he was talking about.
"You know exactly who I'm talking about," he smirked. He mimicked her over-zealous energy, "Who else could it be?!"
I laughed, "Yeah, well, she doesn't seem to like me very much either so I guess it works."
"For the record," he said slowly, glancing at me. "I think you and him would be much better together."
I felt myself blush, but tried to keep composure.
"What are you talking about?" My laugh was nervous and shaky.
He looked at me with a smirk, "Oh, come on, Presley. We all see the way you look at each other, the way you act around one another. I just wish he'd get his head out of his ass and dump the blonde."
"Yeah, well, he's obviously not interested so it doesn't matter." I laid my head on his shoulder, feeling tears well up. My throat felt tight, and I didn't speak for fear I'd break down completely. I didn't want to be a drunk, crying mess when the week had gone so well thus far.
"He's an idiot. I know he has feelings for you, he just won't do anything about it."
"No he doesn't," I choked. Rian put his arm around me, taking my beer from my hands and setting it behind us.
"Hey, you guys- hey, are you okay?!" Jack quickly bent down beside me, looking at me with a look I'd never seen before. I'd never seen his face crease in that way.
"I'm fine," I smiled and wiped the tears from under my eyes. I stood, giving Rian a quick hug and thanking him. I picked my beer up with intentions of going back inside, but Jack grabbed my hand.
"What's wrong, Elvis?" he asked softly, wiping a tear off my cheek with his thumb.
"It's nothing, I'm just being dumb. I've had a little too much to drink," I replied with a soft smile.
"You're not dumb," he assured me, then pulled me in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, tensed at first but then able to relax into his arms. We stood there for a moment until I heard the door slide open.
"What the fuck is going on?" Holly asked, looking at my tear-stained face as we broke from our hug.
I rolled my eyes, "Fuck you, Holly," I venomously as I walked past her into the house.
I heard them whispering to one another and then she followed me back into the house, Jack not too far behind, looking exasperated.
"Excuse me?" she asked, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.
"I said, fuck. you." The alcohol was running through my system, and I knew that was the only reason I was standing up to her. She moved forward, frowning.
"What's your problem, honey? You've been nothing but jealous of me and Jack since I met you, and to be honest it's getting a little pathetic."
"Holly!" Jack said, finally doing more than standing there with a stunned look on his face. "What's your deal?"
"Your little friend here is the one with a problem... Jack, she's obviously got a thing for you. It's obvious," she turned to me. "Deny it, if it's not true."
The entire room waited with bated breath, unsure of what was going to happen next.
"No," finally spoke. "I won't deny it. I'm not going to deny it, because..." I avoided Jack's piercing gaze. "I won't deny it because it's true." I exhaled deeply.
"Told you!" she said in triumph. Jack walked toward me, straight past Holly, and frowned.
"Wait, what do you mean, Pres?"
"You heard what I said, Jack," I sighed.
"How long?" he asked.
"A long time. Like, since high school."
"Why didn't you ever tell me?!" he laughed, earning a look of pure hatred from Holly.
"What the hell is going on here?!" she said loudly.
Jack continued to look at me, though, with curiosity and a small smile.
"Holly, we need to talk," he said, still looking at me with those big, brown eyes.
"Excuse me?" she asked, finally a small look of fear on her face.
"I'll be right back," he told me, pulling Holly back outside. I turned to look at the rest of the room, who all had raised eyebrows.
"Well that was fun," I said, hoping to break the silence. Everyone laughed, resuming what they had been doing. Alex walked over and clapped me on the back and resting his arm on my shoulders.
"It's about fucking time," he laughed. "That relationship was making me crazy!"
"Maybe he's not breaking up with her, though," I bit my lip.
He gave me a look before walking back over the pong table, where his partner, Zack, had been yelling for him to return. I watched them play for a while until I noticed Jack re-enter the room. Glancing over, I noticed he was looking directly at me as he walked across the room.
9/5/13